Club of Shadows
by Lufthexe
Summary: Bane and Talia accompany Rha's on a mission for the League, employees for a nightclub that Rha's forms to infiltrate the corrupt circles of society. However, Rha's does not take into account how it will change Talia as she matures, thrown back into modern society for the first time, and how it will affect her relationship with her protector.
1. Chapter 1

The first time he saw her dance, Bane was sure his heart had stopped entirely, feeling more terror than he had ever felt, and yet something even more unholy spring forth in his chest, some nameless emotion that pulses through his veins, threatening to envelop him. It is enough that his grip on the door frame splinters the wood slightly, his fists clenching involuntarily as he watched her undulate on the stage, flipping her hair over her shoulder as she lured in the crowd with her predatory smile.

She was intoxicating, and she was deadly, and she was much too young to be so jaded, stringing along men with a coy smile and the swing of her hips as her chocolate hair rippled over her shoulder like a wave, shimmering in the pulsing lights of the club as she moved like a siren, her body rolling and rocking in time with the music.

Surely, this couldn't be happening.

Her father would kill him in a second if he saw.

He should move, pull her from the stage, wrap her in his shirt even as she balked and hit him, enraged at his interruption.

But he couldn't look away.

* * *

When Ra's approached them with the mission outlines, Talia was thrilled, for it would be the longest mission she had been involved in, as well as the most involved. Her father was still hesitant to let her out into the world, despite how she excelled in training, besting many of her teachers at record speeds, as her dedication to becoming stronger was enough to overcome even the decade of disease and malnutrition she had endured within the Pit.

Bane was much more hesitant to show emotion about the mission, knowing the inherent risk of each assignment Ra's sent them on; especially one of such magnitude. For all three of them to travel on a mission together beckoned the importance of their task. And with greater importance came greater peril. While Bane had been on quite a few more missions than Talia (much to her chagrin), this deception Ra's planned was on a much grander scale than Bane was accustomed to.

It was foolish to involve Talia. But this was not a thought Bane could ever voice to either of the Al Ghul's, as Talia would have been angry with him for his lack of confidence, and Ra's would not take kindly to him questioning his judgment.

But while Talia had lived and been raised in the pit of the most corrupt, he had tried to shield her from the worst of the evils the world had to offer. It was almost cruel, to thrust her so back into a society from which she was protected; the dark, shadowy underground of a city so plagued with corruption that it's taint would surely stain all who passed through.

It was almost as bad as Gotham.

* * *

Talia sat on her bed, grinning with excitement as she once again read through the details for the mission they were being sent on. She had memorized them after the first read-through, but she savored the feeling of anticipation that filled her every time she scanned through the particulars. A mission, one Ra's Al Ghul himself would accompany, with her beloved protector. It was almost too much to ask for, as her experience had been severely limited to several boring diplomatic trips her father had her accompany him on.

And she would be with _him._

It was enough to make her overlook the relatively small role she played within the mission.

* * *

The journey to Taichung was about four hours long, and there were quite a few other members of the League traveling along side them, sitting quietly among the seats in the private jet, a luxury that only the Demonhead could have afforded. Normally trucks would be loaded and sent off, but due to the distance and the amount of League members traveling with them, it was more economical to take the jet.

Or at least that's what Ra's told himself.

It certainly wasn't because he wanted to watch Talia's expression as she felt the jet lift off the ground, flying for the first time in her life. Ra's tried not to indulge her too much, but it was hard when her eyes would light up with the purest expression of awe he had seen, her grin widening as she looked eagerly out the window, glancing back at him happily.

It was a bad habit, really. But she had given so little in life, denied so much, that while he glorified the ideals of asceticism, it was hard to enforce them on her when such trivial things would bring her such pleasure. And for a moment, he could delude himself into thinking that the eagerness he saw in her eyes mingled with affection for her father.

Delusions, truly.

For the few glances she did steal away from the window were never directed at him. Instead, she looked eagerly over at the masked man across the aisle, hoping to share her enthusiasm. Ra's did not bother to look and see if Bane ignored her presence, or smiled back.

It was bad enough that she cared for Bane's approval over his.

* * *

By the time they arrived in Taichung, it was well past sunset, which made it even easier for the League to disperse unnoticed, eagerly seeking out the darkest corners of the metropolis, where the most corrupt hid. Talia stayed with her father, however, not yet allowed to roam free like the more experienced members.

It chafed at her, but she kept her mouth shut for the time being.

However, when Bane made to abscond off into the city, she balked, nearly calling out for him to stay with her, or to take her with him. While her father was a powerful man, to be left alone with him was mostly uncomfortable, and they usually lapsed into stony silence, neither person adept and filling the void with mindless chatter.

Bane came over, stroking her hair affectionately before leaving, his eyes meeting Ra's and not breaking until he had slipped into the shadows. Talia wondered sullenly how long it would be until she saw him again. Knowing her father, they would likely be on opposite ends of the city, working two completely different objectives.

She huffed, following the Demonhead unenthusiastically as he made his way towards the downtown region, trudging through the trash that littered the dirty town. Her face was sullen and drawn. This was not the thriving center of activity she had hoped it to be, no; rather, it was a city mired in darkness and refuse. And while the city was more open and the sky was clear to her, it reminded her too much of the Pit for her to be comfortable.

After some time of weaving through the dark streets, they arrived at what looked like a large warehouse. Rha's pulled a key from the pocket of his coat, unlocking the padlock chaining the two massive doors together. Pulling the heavy doors open, Talia trailed behind her father as he walked into the pitch black, both of them trained to be completely at home in the darkness.

And then, there was light.

The light was blinding, and took a moment to adjust to. There was a bar to the right of the room, with stools and a few dusty tables set up across the floor. The stage was the focal point of the room, however. Unfortunately, it was too late for Talia to thoroughly inspect most of the room, the jetlag catching up to her, and she followed her father diligently up two flights of stairs to a hallway. Pushing open the closest door to her, Talia saw what looked like an office, stepping inside to investigate before she realized her father had already moved down the hallway. The last door on the right was the only one he opened with a key, pressing the door open for her to go inside. Inside, there was sparse but adequate furniture; a bed, a small trunk, a vanity, and another door attaching to what Talia hoped was a bathroom.

Rha's placed his hand on her shoulder, trying to ignore the way she still flinched, ever so slightly, at the gesture. "This will be your room for the duration of the mission," he said, noticing for the first time the weariness that was etched in the lines of her face. "Go to sleep, daughter." It sounded awkward on his tongue, a word heavy from disuse. She did not comment, though, glancing at him wearily before making her way to the other door, disappearing into the washroom.

* * *

By the time she has prepared for bed, Rha's had left her room, and Talia was glad for it. It was strange; too strange to hear him call her endearments, especially 'daughter'. Even Melisande had scarcely used the term, preferring 'child' or other nicknames in her native tongue that sounded soothing when she said them, in a way Talia could never replicate, no matter how hard she practiced to master the language.

She fell into bed gracelessly, curling in on herself and wrapping her small frame in blankets. She wondered, tiredly, where Bane was at that moment. Was he asleep, or simply wandering through the city, getting to know it's denizens?. She missed the heat his body would give off when they lay pressed against each other, like they had in the Pit, and on certain nights in the barracks at the League's home, when the nightmares were too prevalent. She would go to him, and crawl into his bed to nestle at his side. And while he would grunt in annoyance, she could feel his arm tighten around her, his fingers tangling in her short curls.

She turned over, trying not to think about him anymore, lest her dreams be plagued with thoughts she could not control.

It was not like Bane was thinking about her. He had a whole city to explore and occupy his thoughts.

* * *

There were quite literally dozens of places to go and sleep in the city; hundreds of places to eat, to get lost, or even to find a fight. But Bane wanted none of those things. He was perched atop a warehouse with a steel roof that made for an uncomfortable resting place, but it was closer to home than anything else the city had to offer.

Talia was inside, sleeping.

Rha's would likely severely punish him if he found him atop the building, as he was not supposed to break cover, especially not to simply lie on the roof of their new headquarters; and yet, there was nowhere else he would rather sleep.

Well, maybe one place.

But he would not disturb her, at least not tonight, after such a long flight. She needed her rest. And he would see her soon. While not an integral part of the mission, she would play her role, just as he would, and he was fortunate that they would see each other almost every night.

It was definitely not the worst mission he had been assigned, that was for sure.


	2. Chapter 2

The next day was spent in a flurry of motion, the Demonhead directing as supplies were ordered, the warehouse was cleaned, and it began to take on it's true form and function, looking much more like a true nightclub than it had the night before. While the building had been used as a club before, obvious from the stage in the middle of the room, the owners had closed it down a few months ago, either to financial stress or Rha's's coercion, Talia couldn't be sure, and she doubted he would say. The building itself was three stories tall, with the nightclub residing on the ground floor, a restaurant on the second, and karaoke rooms, as well as Rha's's office and Talia's bedroom on the third. While the League operated mostly on the nightclub floor, Rha's having leased out the restaurant to another business, there were League members interspersed with all of the regular personnel, ready to carry out Rha's orders at all times.

Bane was tasked with most of the heavy lifting during the construction of the club, which he didn't mind, and Talia spent her time shadowing her father, watching him direct and coordinate supplies, indubitably an invaluable lesson to his potential heir. But it was nearly nighttime before Bane was able to talk to her again, after their work had been accomplished, and most of the other league members had disappeared into the shadows of sundown. He found her sitting on the roof, eating her meal as she stared off at the skyline, the high-rise buildings blocking the dim light of the sun's rays from fully showing. He silently sat down next to her, staring out at the sky, hoping to see what captivated her attention so raptly. The temperature was barely above freezing, but living in the mountains for so long had made them mostly immune to the cold. They sat like that for quite a time, until the sun was gone from the sky and the darkness of night overtook it.

"There are no stars," she commented finally, looking up at the murky blackness. Bane chuckled, knowing this would likely be so for the duration of their stay.

"Not in a city as infested as this, there is no room for beauty. The pollution blocks out the light." He said calmly, leaning back against the roof to take in more of the sky. It was not ugly, per se, but it was nowhere near the sky they could see from the mountains, the stars so close they looked as though you could reach out and touch one.

That was what Bane wanted for Talia.

This city was far too impure for a girl like her.

She sighed, discontent with his answer, and laid down next to him; not touching him, but close enough to see him stiffen slightly.

"Are you troubled, Bane?" she asked innocently, rolling over to look at him, her hair fluttering around her face in the light breeze. He sighed, knowing she was far too perceptive to let him be.

"It is nothing, little one," he responded, not turning his head to look at her. While he was her protector, he was not blind to the way she had matured while being in the League, and while she was still young in years, she no longer looked like the boyish child she once was.

She had blossomed into a woman, and it was terrifying. He was ill-suited to be her guardian when she was but a child, and now he was even more inept at how to care for a young woman.

She sighed, rolling her eyes at him, and wedged herself into the crook of his arm like she used to when she was much smaller, her head resting against his chest. His mask rasped. He was trapped. He could not push her away, but he did not encircle her with his arm like he once might have.

She would need to learn her boundaries, soon.

She forgets that he was still a man, despite his many deformities.

She fell asleep on him, and he finally relaxed once her breaths deepened and her twitching had stopped. Once he was sure that she would not stir, he lifted her into his arms gently, carrying her from the roof into the top floor of the warehouse, where he knew her bedroom was.

Rha's watched silently as Bane carried Talia to her room, his lips tight as Bane's gaze flickered to her resting face so often. When the giant left, his eyes met Rha's's gaze, and then quickly flicked back to the hallway. He knew he was guilty.

* * *

Talia did not see Bane again until opening night of the club, which had been named the Weierkang Club by its previous owners. While Talia thought it was a ridiculous name, it fit in with the surrounding Taiwanese nightlife, and was as inconspicuous as they could get. And, if she was being honest, it looked immaculate. It had been an incredible process to see the amount of preparation and coordination that went into making the night club truly outfitted.

While she was not in one of the more important positions, Talia was content with her job at the bar in the nightclub, serving and mixing drinks for the various customers. It had been a trying week leading up to the opening, learning how to correctly pour and mix popular recipes, as well as brushing up on her Chinese. There were so many ways to simply imbibe alcohol, it seemed. This part of the world was relatively unknown to her, as there had never been any alcohol sent down to the Pit, and the League looked down upon it's consumption. The only time she had been acquainted with it was when she was still searching for her father, having encountered drunkard men and taverns.

But working at a nightclub was a much different animal, and while she was confident of her ability to mix and serve perfect drinks, she wondered at how she would handle the various nightlife that wandered to the stools at her bar.

Rha's had strictly told them that violence was off-limits to all customers, and she did not want to be the one to break that rule simply because a customer had grown a little too bold.

And she was nervous, because this was the first time she had worn clothing that was cut and suited to a woman of her age; not the tunics and loose-fitting pants of the League, or the rags of the Pit. While her father would not have her in anything immodest, the shirt and pants were still more form-fitting than anything she owned before, the black vest accentuating her small waist.

She hoped she got to keep the clothing, too, if only for the look on Bane's face when he saw her emerge from her bedroom. It had been a new one, his eyes darkening in a way that pleased her, and she knew it was not a conscious act on his part.

The doors opened at eight for the club, and while customers trickled in, Talia found herself busy with orders, the nightlife picking up around ten o clock. By midnight, the place was packed, and Talia was sure her father could at least count the opening as a success. However, the pace she was forced to work at was maddening, and while she was supposed to be talking to the customers, forming relationships and listening to their conversations, Talia was overwhelmed by the sheer amount of work she was supposed to accomplish just to keep up with the orders. When her break came, she was quite relieved. Leaving through the backdoor into an alleyway behind the club, she was thankful for the cool night air. Talia was surprised, however, to see Bane there, leaning back against the alley wall, his arms crossed against his chest as he watched her with a quirked eyebrow. She stumbled, flustered, and muttered something about being on break, trying not to cringe at how awkward she sounded.

God, it was only Bane. And it was not as if he had caught her doing something she wasn't supposed to.

Sticking her tongue out at him, she went and leaned against the wall next to him. "Are you on break too?" she asked after a moment, wondering why he had been out here. Maybe he had been waiting for her.

"I guard the back entrances. A bouncer, of sorts." He replied, looking down at her. He tapped a finger on his mask. "Not very inviting, you see." Talia frowned, not knowing how to respond. She had grown so accustomed to the mask on his face that it took a moment to remember that normal society would not be so immune to the fearsome contraption.

They lapsed into silence again, Talia consider the ramifications of Bane's mask in a new light. He would not be able to explore the city with her; at least, not in the daylight, and not without some sort of disguise. It was a sobering thought, and she felt her guilt renew; she was responsible for his pain.

Bane hadn't meant to put an end to the conversation ; he did not truly mind staying in the back. it kept him away from having to pretend to care about the 'guests', only dealing with the few inebriated fools who tried to start a fight or cause trouble. He could see the guilt Tal still bore for his mask, but he knew no way to assuage that. She had saved him. The mask was a necessary evil.

But before Bane could start up another conversation, Talia returned to the loud music of the nightclub, looking weary. He longed to take her away, to disappear into the night and explore the local sights under the cloak of darkness. Leaning back against the doorframe, Bane kept the door propped open with the toe of his boot, watching as Talia smiled and greeted new customers, her hands a blur of motion as she mixed drink after drink.

It was distracting enough that he did not notice the broken glass bottle until it was too late, smashing into his skull with all the force of a drunken rage.

* * *

**AN:** Sorry for the cliffhanger! But not really :)

Thank you too all my loyal and new readers who left me a review on the first chapter. I'm glad to see so many people enjoying it.


	3. Chapter 3

While the broken glass did not have the desired effect, it was still enough to stun Bane, stumbling and catching himself on the doorframe, blood dripping from his skull. Furious, Bane turned, kicking the door to the club closed roughly with his heel as he stared down the man who thought it wise to attack him. He was drunk, clearly; two of his friends stood behind him, cheering him on as he brandished his makeshift weapon. It was insulting, really. Bane towered over them, his frame and broad shoulder nearly twice the man's size. And while his wound was severe, already an intense throbbing that promised stitches, the mask held the full force of the pain at bay, allowing him to function relatively normally.

And oh, was he livid.

These men, clearly looking for a fight, had severely underestimated him, or overestimated their own ability. It was insolent, and Bane would not tolerate it. Turning fully, the drunken men were finally able to see Bane's full figure, the intimidating mask that adorned his face, his eyes ablaze with fury as blood streamed from his damaged skull, glass shards still embedded in him. He strode forward quickly, grabbing the nearest man by the face, his palm large enough to encompass the man's entire skull, and slammed him against the wall of the alleyway with a sickening crunch, the man dropping to the ground as soon as Bane released his grip, out cold. The blood burned in his eyes, clouding his vision as he strode towards the other two men, who stepped back, cowering after seeing how fast the first man had been dispatched. Bane was almost upon them when the back door slammed open and Ra's stormed out with two league members, looking furious. The man on the ground twitched and groaned, but remained collapsed, the two other men running off during the distraction. Ra's focused his attention on Bane, however.

"Did I not instruct you to not use force?" he began, pinning Bane with a cold stare. If he were a lesser man, Bane might have flinched or felt chagrined. He did not.

"It was in self-defense," Bane stated, looking disdainfully down at the lump of a man that bled in the alleyway, twitching. Ra's was not amused.

"I do not believe I should have to explain that crushing a man's skull is not considered self-defense." He stated, irritated. "And any League member who can be overcome by a few drunken fools is no true Shadow."

"You would have done the same," Bane growled, his wounded head starting to throb more incessantly, making him even more irritable. Ra's met his gaze.

"Perhaps. But that is not your place. Our goal is to infiltrate quietly, not cause a rash of deaths so closely linked to the club."

It was hard to resist arguing with the man, Bane's fists balled as he willed himself to calm down. It would be foolish to lash out at the very man who rescued him, and provided him with the venom that kept his pain at bay.

The other League members retreated back into the club with a flick of Ra's hand, leaving the two of them alone.

"I know my daughter is fond of you, and for her sake I tolerate your...outburt," Ra's began, and Bane could feel the rage surging up in his veins at the mention of Talia, at somehow being 'tolerated' only because of her. "But do not think that you can continue to act outside of my instructions," he said, voice hard.

It would be so, so easy to reach out and break the man. He may be faster, but Bane had the element of surprise on his side, as well as superior strength.

But he stood still, seething in his rage as Ra's walked back to the club. "Dispose of the body," he commanded, hardly sparing a glance at the collapsed man.

* * *

It was two hours, maybe three, before Bane returned, hands filthy and head still bleeding. His hands were trembling slightly, and he tried to ignore how clouded his vision had become, or how his rage at Ra's still burned brightly at his chest.

* * *

Talia found him locked in the walk-in refrigerator of the restaurant, her heart nearly stopping when she saw the blood dripping down his face. She flew to him, her hands at his face, and it was a moment before his eyes focused and he remembered where he was, and why his little one was starting at him with such concern in her eyes. He exhaled slowly, letting her help him to his feet and tug him towards her room. He would have protested had he been in the right state of mind, but he was barely coherent, and therefore did not object when she placed him on her bed, his back against the wall as she rushed around gathering supplies, muttering about a needle and towels. She returned laden with provisions, anxiety etched into her face, and it clenched at his heart as she tried to clean him up the best she could, toweling blood from his face as gently as possible.

It wasn't easy, what with the glass shards still embedded in his skin, and his mask making it difficult to clean all of the blood from his face. Every jagged breath Bane inhaled was another jab in her heart, knowing that she was causing him more pain, despite how gentle she tried to be.

* * *

Talia had seen blood. It was a daily part of her life, ever since she was born in the Pit and again at the League. But it had rarely been Bane's blood. Always the blood of others on his hands; never bleeding so badly from his own wounds. While she tried to put on a calm facade, inside she was terrified at the pain he was in. The blood had slowed from his wound, but the glass still needed to be removed from his skin, and the wound stitched.

He watched her with softened eyes as she meticulously tried to fix him.

What did it matter if he bled, or scarred more? But to his little one, it was a serious matter, so he would let her poke and prod at his skull in an attempt to heal him.

And then she was climbing onto the bed, moving to straddle his lap as her hands steadied herself on his shoulders.

His large hands were on her hips in a second, holding her off of him. "What do you think you are doing?" He rasped, eyes widened at her movements, his fingers clenching involuntarily in what would likely be bruises in the morning, but Bane was not focused on that.

"I'm trying to stitch your wound," Talia replied stubbornly, trying to shift closer. Bane inhaled sharply, not letting her loose.

"I will be fine without your needle poking me, little one," he tried to reason gently, his self-control waning. She narrowed her eyes, seeing the clear lie. Talia rapped her knuckles lightly against his skull, and he groaned in response, the pain near blinding, and his grasp on her hips faltering enough that she was able to sit on his lap, a devilish grin on her lips as she pulled out her needle and thread. Bane tried to glare at her, but the press of her hips was too distracting, and the way her chest pressed against his shoulder was enough that his fists were clenched in the sheets of her bed, using all the willpower he had left to simply sit there, his eyes staring off vacantly at the wall as she pulled the thread through his skin. And if he groaned at the insistent press of her hips, well, surely that could be chalked up to the stitches, and not the desire he was trying so fervently to deny.


End file.
